Spin the Wheel

Just watched this movie yesterday. This isn't your typical canned Hollywood production, if that's what you expect, this may not be for you. Rather, it is a thought provoking, soul affirming look at our humanness. It touches on several topics, that may or may not resonate for you, but for some this will hit home.

The location, lighting and music was very well suited to the overall feeling. Casting was well done, Diane and Neil were superb and the others did their characters justice.

My constructive criticism would be : the sound quality at times, a few flat spots occurred where it was too quiet and drawn out ( perhaps for dramatic effect) where music may have helped build that tension. There was one particular character twist that was too big a leap, for me. ( it needed more of a bridge or justification).

However, I am compelled to watch this movie again. Why ? Because there were subtle nuances in some of the characterizations that I feel I may have missed. It's one of those movies you have to watch again to truly appreciate.

Aside from a couple of corny jokes, and there was one that made me laugh out loud. It's not a comedy. It's not high action. It's a thought provoking, original and unique piece of work mixed in with some great shots, lighting, music and character reveals.

But don't take my word for it, watch it for yourself and see.

Though not normally a genre of movie I would choose, my husband was interested so we gave it a watch. It is dialogue heavy but I loved the plot - it honestly felt like it could (kinda) be a reality one day. I think the standout for me was that I was honestly "not in love" with any of the characters for over half of the movie, but by the end I was 100% emotionally invested and rooting for them - how did they do that??? So kudos to the writing and acting because I was certainly not expecting that, so this makes it a re-watch for sure. I also appreciated the perfectly timed sprinkle of humor throughout - definitely kept me engaged when I least expected it.

With low budget indie films, you can get some stinkers and you can get some gems. Spin the Wheel is definitely one of the Gems, and really hits exactly what it was trying to be - and definitely deserves a watch.

Spin the Wheel is surprisingly well shot considering the budget - it easily looks as good as many films with 5x-10x the budget. Actually - I change my mind, it's NOT really surprising after all, because Brimstone Pictures' other films also all look great, so they've got the art of making films with a lot of bang-for-the-buck figured out.

And in the bang-for-the-buck department... the acting is pretty solid all round, the story is written pretty well and isn't predicable, characters are developed well in a short amount of time plus some well hidden and unexpected character twists... I mean, what's not to love?

Of course, it's not Shawshank Redemption or The Godfather... but it's easily worth the time to watch, and it actually had me thinking 'what would I do if I was there' and provoking that reaction is an accomplishment for any film. For me, it's a 'Thumbs Up' and a score of 8/10 for the indie films I've seen this recently!

Spin the Wheel delivers exactly what it says on the package. You know going into something like this that it will be showing its indie film colors and it definitely does. The majority of the acting and production quality feels average at best, but there is some gold in there. There are some excellent shots, and the lighting style complements the tone well. Pacing feels right in this film. The slow burn at the beginning is nessessary for the story but short, and wastes no time getting into the meat of the plot that carries you to the ending with a deliberate, but not rushed cadence.

Some actors in this film are obvious stand-outs that punch way higher than thier weight class. While watching Neil Chase and Brandon Horth on screen you easily forget you are watching a film that cost less to make than a used Toyota Camry. The value proposition to the viewer here is fantastic, and a pleasent suprise in the end.

The negative reviews of this film is grossly over exaggerated. I can only assume they come from rivals in the production house's locale as this film is clearly a diamond in an otherwise unremarkable rough.

Spin is definitely worth your time, with the legs for an additional watch or 3.

Recently watched this film and thoroughly enjoyed it. Good character development, well developed story line. It made you feel as though you could actually picture yourself in the movie. I would have liked to know the ending whether they had actually died and went to heaven or whether they were actually in hell being in the dive bar where it all takes place in. Perhaps the writer left that to our imagination which was probably the intention. Overall solid movie night watch with an original story. Also the music throughout was well played and the twists it took you on were well timed. Lighting was also notable with great use of color and ominous tones. Overall enjoyed the movie.